This pitcher is a manager's nightmare

Baseball managers can drive fans nuts in late innings with numerous calls to the bullpen, but they have good reason.

It's a tried-and-true strategy that's proved by the statistics: Left-handed hitters have a tougher time against left-handed pitchers, and right-handed hitters will have problems against right-handed pitchers. And here's why.

But college managers trying to create some decent matchups against Pat Venditte have to be left shaking their heads.

Venditte is a junior pitcher for Creighton University. He's a natural right-hander, but was taught to pitch with both hands as a young player.

When he faces a right-handed batter, he throws right-handed, and he has a fastball that's in the 91 mph range, according to a recent story in the New York Times.

When a lefty comes up, he adjusts his custom-made baseball glove, putting the glove on his right hand, and then pitches to him left-handed, where he has a decent biting slider.

There are no major league ambidextrous pitchers, and Venditte is one of three ambidextrous pitchers in college baseball at the moment, according to Venditte's bio on Creighton's Web site.

Venditte, who is 3-2 with a respectable 3.42 ERA this season, wears a special glove that he can wear on both hands.

So could Venditte and a switch-hitter have an infinite face off, with each player changing hands and batter's boxes as the other player switches? Not exactly. Venditte must declare which hand he is pitching with before facing a batter.